Tears
by Orenda
Summary: Not all fairy tales have happy endings. Written for the 30nights community.


Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou  
Title: Tears  
Author: Orenda  
Theme: 19. Crying all night for you  
Pairing: Yuuri/Wolfram  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: I do not own KKM. Although I do like to borrow it on occasion…  
Summary: Not all fairy tales have happy endings.

Wolfram von Bielefeld was not very good at hiding his emotions. Oh sure, he might try, keeping his expressions hard and cold, and only very rarely ever smiled in public beyond a simple smirk. And well, everyone knew that he did not even attempt to hide his anger, his frustration, his pride, and his jealousy, all of which seemed to make up a large portion of his personality.

But the ones that were truly closest to him could really tell that there was a lot more to Wolfram than what he allowed anyone else to see. If you looked close enough, if you really wanted to see the real Wolfram… all you had to do was look at his eyes. Those large, gorgeous green eyes that he'd inherited from his mother… They would tell you just about everything.

Because really, when you looked past the tirade that he put on for public display, as much as he wanted to deny it, Wolfram was in a lot of ways still very scared and insecure about himself. That no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he achieved, it would still never be good enough. He did not have scars of war like his brothers. He would never be a match for Conrad's sword, no matter how much he practiced, and he would never have the logic skills that Gwendal had in order to keep the kingdom running smoothly. True, he did have his fire, but when it burned, it never seemed to be enough to satisfy him.

What he really wanted more than anything else was the heart of his king, and after today, he was certain that he would never be able to have it.

But for tonight, just this one time, Wolfram allowed himself to drop the act, if only for himself. It had been years since he'd given himself permission to cry. He'd almost kept it from happening this time too, knowing that if he started that he might not be able to stop again. As it was, he didn't think the tears would ever stop, and remembering what happened only made it worse.

Curled up in a corner of the garden, surrounded by flowers, he felt fairly certain that no one would ever be able to find him there in his current state. It was starting to get cold, but he couldn't care less. He'd stay outside all night if need be, if only to make certain that no one would ever see him in current state of weakness. Wolfram shut his eyes tightly as the memory flashed in his mind once again, even as the tears continued.

There was going to be a royal ball in two days to celebrate Yuuri's birthday. While it would have been a special event for any Mazoku, it was even more so for the Maou. Food was being prepared as much in advance as possible for the upcoming feast, decorations could already be seen throughout the castle, and Yuuri himself was being kept especially busy with the extra time studying all that he needed to say and do.

It was late in the afternoon when it happened. Wolfram was outside working with his soldiers, lecturing them on improper techniques and what should be expected of them, when he noticed a familiar head of black hair approach as matching eyes focused on watching him. He tried to ignore it at first, except for a slight nod in the other boy's direction as he continued with his demonstration. Once finished, he dismissed his men, only then approaching Yuuri directly.

"What are you doing here, wimp? Don't you have a party to plan for?"

"I, uh, snuck away when Gunter wasn't looking," Yuuri admitted sheepishly, although surprisingly did not retaliate to the wimp comment. "I wanted to see you."

Wolfram very quickly hid his surprise with a slight smirk, but he was obviously pleased with this fact. "Oh? Plan on actually starting to fulfill your duties as Maou?"

Yuuri blushed, but somehow managed to keep his eyes focused right on Wolfram. "Ah, well… Uh… Wolfram? We really need to talk about this whole engagement thing."

The blonde's eyes grew cold at that. The way that Yuuri said it did not bode very well in his mind, and he needed to be a lot more cautious. His answer was heavily guarded. "Oh, really? Finally going to take me seriously after all this time?"

"Wolfram," Yuuri started, and reached forward to grab his hand, which only made Wolfram tenser, "We've been engaged for over two years now... A-And I'm getting older and have to really start worrying about my future as the Maou, and… we need to stop pretending."

In a quick moment, Wolfram's hand was pulled away, and icy eyes met with his fiancé's. "What's i that /i supposed to mean?"

Yuuri looked determined, even though he was obviously nervous about this, and Wolfram was now fairly certain that this speech had been practiced a few times in advance.

"You know we're never going to get married… It was just a stupid accident! And… We're guys, right? I-It just doesn't work that way. And we'd never be able to have children… Well, yes, there's Greta, but I mean not our i own /i anyways, and it's just… We'll always be friends, right? I like you, j-just not like i that /i , and please don't hit me Wolfram?" He pauses, as if waiting, but what he's anticipating never comes, so he finally takes a deep breath and continues. "If we could just call off this silly engagement, then you'd be free to be able to find a wonderful girl to love who'd be much better than me…"

Wolfram listened to Yuuri as he continued to ramble from there, making half-hearted excuses and was obviously waiting for the blond to start yelling and screaming at him among the other things that went along with Wolfram's temper. But it never came. Wolfram just continued to stand there silently, giving Yuuri an icy blank look that never changed as his whole world was starting to shatter from the inside.

That seemed to worry the dark haired boy tremendously, who finally yelled, "Wolfram! Say i something! /i "

At that, after a few moments, Wolfram finally looked away, down at the grass below them, his face still very unusually blank.

"Yes… It is probably for the best. You may announce that our engagement is officially off at your birthday. Now if you'll excuse me, Your Majesty, I have more of my own work that needs to be done."

Yuuri inhaled sharply, and seemed to pale himself at the use of his title. Wolfram i never /i called him that, ever. He'd expected the prince to take his decision badly, but this… Yuuri hurried to reach out and touch Wolfram's shoulder, to which he did finally get a sharp reaction.

"Please don't touch me, Your Majesty," Wolfram warned him darkly. "Good day."

He spun around and walked away at that point, refusing to look back. He didn't want to look at Yuuri's face, who was probably rejoicing now to be rid of him. But more than anything, he absolutely refused to let Yuuri see how very broken he felt.

He'd managed to avoid everyone for the rest of the day, locking himself in his room and refusing to eat or allow anyone inside, not even the servants. Wolfram just stayed on his bed for hours, not asleep but staring at the ceiling. He felt too empty to move, to respond to anything. And only when it was dark and he was certain the hallways would be mostly empty did he finally venture out, staying close to the shadows as he made his way silently outside.

Even then, it took some time for the tears to come. He didn't want to be this weak, especially not over some stupid boy whom he'd stupidly fallen madly in love with even knowing that it was a bad idea anyways. What a foolish king. The others could have him. Maybe he should just leave, possibly find somewhere else that he might be more wanted… It wasn't like he had anything else…

As soon as he sank into the flowers, breathing in their fragrance, that's when he'd finally lost it.

Wolfram von Bielefeld was indeed very bad at hiding his emotions. So he cried to himself, allowing the pain and hurt and frustration to take over, and for just one night he would swallow his pride.


End file.
